Duck and Mushroom Pie

Here is my recipe for a duck and mushroom pie. Duck legs are cooked (in the pressure cooker) with triple sec and a bit of orange zest, giving it a mild orange flavor. The pie is then filled with the duck meat, peas, corn and bread and baked until golden brown.

Ingredients

• 1 package frozen pie crust (2 crusts)
• 3 duck legs
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• ½ small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• zest of ½ orange, large pieces
• 3 tbsp chicken stock
• 1 tbsp triple sec
• ¼ tsp dried thyme
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 lb / 450 g mushrooms, preferably a firm variety (I used trumpet royale)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp sugar
• ½ small onion, chopped
• 1 cup peas (frozen)
• ½ cup corn (frozen)
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ cup / 60 ml dry white wine
• ¼ cup / 60 ml chicken stock
• 3 slices of bread, cut into ½ in / 1 cm cubes
• 2 tbsp butter

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°F / 190°C.
2. Grease a pie pan with butter. Line bottom and sides with a sheet of pie crust dough.
3. Season duck legs with freshly ground black pepper.
4. Set pressure cooker over high heat. Add vegetable oil. Add duck legs, skin side down. Brown well, then turn and brown the other side.
5. Reduce heat. Add chopped onion and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute or two.
6. Add orange zest, chicken stock, triple sec, thyme and salt.
7. Put on the lid and cook at high pressure for 35-40 minutes.
8. Release pressure. Remove the duck legs, take the meat off the bones and set aside. Remove and discard the orange zest.
9. Degrease the liquid by skimming off the fat. Set aside liquid, discard fat.
10. While the duck legs are cooking, set a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tbsp butter, the olive oil and the sugar. Cook until the sugar has turned golden brown. Stir frequently.
11. Add chopped onion. Cook until lightly browned. Add mushrooms and salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, reducing heat if necessary.
12. Add wine and chicken stock. Simmer partially covered for about 15 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated.
13. Add corn and peas. Simmer for another 5 minutes (or until tender).
14. Add duck meat and liquid from cooking the duck. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
15. Stir in bread cubes. Fill the mixture into the pie pan, cover with a second sheet of pie crust, crimp the edges and cut a cross in the center to allow steam to escape.
16. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the crust has turned golden brown.
17. Serve immediately.

You can of course also use homemade pie crust.

Yields 4-6 servings

Preparation time about 60-90 minutes